Trusting You (Natsu Dragneel Love Story)
by KittenCobra
Summary: Aegina 'Gina' Asterope finally met her match in the spirited fire dragon slayer of Fairy Tail, Natsu Dragneel. He is the perfect Sire for the family she hopes to have but she can't figure out why on Earthland he didn't tell himself that when he traveled back from the future. Now, she must discover what he is so afraid of and how to outmaneuver fate in the game for her life.
1. Chapter 1

"You're not going." Natsu rips the job flyer out of Gina's hands.

Gina stares back at him with her heart lurching in her chest. "W-what?"

_Natsu never hesitates to invite his friends. _His eyebrows are pinched together with a severe frown as he stares down at her. He's dressed in his favorite traveling outfit, with the belted long coat and missing sleeve to show off his red guild stamp. He's standing close enough that she'd only have to lean a few inches forward to kiss him, but he doesn't look interested in anything she might offer right now with the job flyer tucked up under his bare arm. _We're at least still friends… aren't we? _

"We can handle this job," he says. "We don't need you to tag along. You should stay here and rest."

Lucy walks up and places a hand on Natsu's shoulder, leaning in close to his ear to whisper, "Natsu, maybe we shouldn't discuss this in the middle of the guild."

Fairy Tail is busy today, with new wizards coming to learn about Fairy Tail by the day. This particular spot in front of the job board gets just as much traffic as the bar. Now, the other guild members around them are turning to listen in.

"It's not a discussion," Natsu says, shrugging Lucy's hand off. "You, Happy and I can handle the job. End of story. Let's just grab our stuff and head out."

_Discuss this?_ Gina feels like she's trapped in some kind of weird alternate reality. _What is Lucy talking about? _

"I'm sorry," Gina says to him, swallowing around the lump in her throat. "I… I didn't realize you were still so angry with me."

"Huh?" Natsu blinks a few times, loosening up his posture only slightly.

Nearly four months ago, Gina attempted to fade, or allow herself to die. As a fire nymph living in secret, and a nymph Queen expected to birth and mother the next generation of her people, life had become too painful. She'd searched for a suitable fire mage and Sire to father her children, but after more than 90 years of searching, she'd given up hope long before she met Natsu Dragneel.

Without knowing what she was, he'd belligerently drug her back from death's door, and an older version of himself had traveled back in time to tell her that he loved his life and wanted to be her Sire. He saved her, but the Natsu back in her own time is still incredibly upset by all that happened. After regaining his strength and waking back up in Magnolia, he's been morose and distant.

"**Natsu, I'm thinking about moving into Fairy Hills," she'd told him after a few days home at his cabin. Future Natsu had asked her to be patient with him, but for some reason, hadn't chosen to reveal to his younger self what she was. **

"**The women's dorm?" Natsu had asked, meeting her eyes for the first time that day. **

"**I thought…" she'd hesitated. "Well I've been in Magnolia for a while now, and I'd like to stay but I don't have a place of my own." **_**I'd love to stay here with you but you don't seem to really want me here. **_

"**Oh," he'd glanced down at his fists for a moment. "Yeah, that's a good idea."**

**Gina did her best not to flinch from the sting. She could feel love coming from him but it was wrapped up in something dark and cold. **

**He'd stood and glanced back on his way out the door. "I'm heading to the guild to see what's up. Everybody's talking about some big announcement. Just… let me know if you need help, okay?"**

"**Sure." **

**She hadn't told him she needed him to hold her. **

_He asked me to be patient, _Gina reminds herself for the hundredth time, _so there's nothing to do now but wait._ "You don't need to worry." She rushes to get the words out before her tears escape. "All of my belongings have been moved, so I won't be underfoot. Enjoy your trip."

She turns and runs for the open front doors of the guild hall.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Natsu calls from behind her. "Gina, stop!"

"Why did you go and embarrass her like that?" Lucy shouts. "You big idiot!"

**The big announcement that day had been about the Grand Magic Games, and Natsu was eager to go help the guild win back their honor. When she'd talked about tagging along, he'd said it would be silly for her to go. She needed to rest and recover from her illness. **

**He'd been right, so she'd faded into the background. The wizards chosen to compete had disappeared for months due to a training accident. Then Natsu rushed off for the games, but he'd given her hope before he left. **

"**How are you doing?" he'd asked the night before they were scheduled to leave. **

"**Oh, I'm fine." She'd tucked her drawing into her journal and deep into her shoulder bag. "Aren't you supposed to be getting ready?"**

"**I am," he'd said, reaching to take her hand. "I need… Look, I know I've been gone a lot but that wasn't really the plan. We're going to be gone for a little while for the games too and I just want to make sure you're doing better before I go."**

"**You don't have to explain yourself, Natsu." She'd focused in on the fragile love she could still feel flowing from his body, strengthening her and no longer endangering him. "And you don't need to be afraid. I'm… better than I was before. I'm not going to die on you now." She'd given him her most dazzling smile. "I promise."**

**But Natsu hadn't looked comforted. For some strange reason, he'd reacted like he'd been slapped, pulling away and rubbing at his eyes. **

"**Natsu?" **

**He'd whirled back, pulling her body against him. He smelled like fire, like home. His body was trembling and in a flash, his hand was in her hair and he was nose-to-nose with her, looking into her eyes. **

"**Promise me you'll rest the whole time I'm gone," he'd said, gritting his teeth. "No jobs. No stunts. No heroics. No giving up on life. Just eating good food, laughing with the guild members who are still here, sleeping, and drawing those pictures you like. Okay? Please, I'm begging you."**

"**I promise," she'd said, confused by his intensity. "Natsu, I'm really okay."**

"**Man, I need to kiss you," he'd whispered. **

**She hadn't needed to look around to know they were making a scene. The guild hall was a tiny place, and it was packed with people excited about the upcoming trip. But who cared? **

**She didn't give him permission. She took what she wanted just as much as he did. He crushed her against him as she savored the fiery flavor of his mouth and the hand in her hair trembled as it gripped her black curls. She loved feeling the strength of his neck and shoulders beneath her hands, and the potent combination of love and lust flowing from him. **

**A few members of the crowd called out cheers and hoots of amusement at the display, but Natsu just tucked his face against her neck and breathed her scent deep into his lungs. She'd been surprised when she turned and caught Gray's sad expression. **

"**Well, I need to get going," Natsu had said, turning and rushing out the door. "I'll find you when I get back."**

That had been that.

Yesterday, Gina had watched the members of Fairy Tail proudly parade back into the streets of Magnolia after their victory in the Grand Magic Games. She'd been excited to see their reaction to the new castle of a guild hall they'd been gifted by the mayor. It even has its own swimming pool!

But Natsu had not come for her.

Now she rushes out its front door and down the street to flee from his confusing rejection. She would swear she still feels his love, but she doesn't understand why he doesn't want her around. She's trying to be better, stronger. She really is. But her heart still feels so weak and so easily wounded. So tired of pain. Natsu himself feels like her new home but now, even with her new apartment in Fairy Hills, she feels more homeless than she ever has before.

She leaps up into the back of a fast-moving cart, heading to the outskirts of town.

* * *

"What the hell happened?" Gray asks, storming into the main room in his jacket.

"Natsu!" Lucy screeches at him again. "What exactly do you think you're doing just ordering her around like that?"

"You heard what Future Me said," Natsu whispers with his blood boiling with anger. "I'm not gonna let her die in a battle!"

"What? So you're just going to order her to never go on a job again?" Lucy asks.

"You numb-nuts!" Gray says, shoving him hard. "How the heck is that even supposed to work? She's a wizard and a full member of the guild now! She's got to work to pay her bills, just like the rest of us."

"I'll pay 'em!" Natsu shouts, shoving back.

"Oh, that is _so _not going to work," Lucy scoffs. "Gina doesn't strike me like the kind of woman who's going to put up with this kind of crap."

"I don't care what anyone says," Natsu hisses, still trying not to draw more attention. "I'm not going to let what he said happen. Way I see it… it can't happen that way if she's never in another battle."

"What?" Gray asks. "So you're going to ask her not to be a wizard anymore? Would _you_ do that just because _she _asked nicely?"

"Which by the way, you aren't even doing," Lucy says.

"All three of you need to calm down and lower your voices," Erza says, stepping up beside them. "Now."

"No," Natsu seethes. "I need to go find Gina."

"Why the heck didn't you go find her yesterday when we got back?" Gray asks.

That's it. Natsu knows he's hit his limit. "God dammit, Gray, I just watched Future Lucy DIE okay! I can't even think about-"

_Ouch! _Everything goes dark.

* * *

Happy screams. "Why did you hit him?"

"He needs to be more careful with what he says," Erza sighs, "but I'm not sure he's capable right now.'

Erza lifts Natsu's limp body over her shoulder and walks into a more private side room with Lucy, Happy and Gray.

Once the door is firmly closed, she says, "I know we all agreed not to talk about what Natsu revealed from the future, but I'm worried about the strain it's putting on him. I didn't imagine he'd have to deal with something so close to that future he already fears, during the games."

"That's all I could think," Lucy says with a broken voice, "after the Me from the future died right in front of us. It was so painful for me, and I knew that if I changed the future she would never have even suffered. But for Natsu. He had the pain of watching me die and not being able to stop it so close to nearly losing Gina... and being told he's going to lose her anyway. In a battle. Just like that. He… he just lost it. I've never seen him in a rage like that."

"To be honest," Gray says. "I'm not even sure what advice to give him. Should he keep his distance? Try to enjoy her company while she's here without getting too deep? Or should he take advantage of every moment he has, knowing - like we all know - that it's going to hurt him enough to make him feel like giving up? Like dying. I can't honestly even imagine him hurt that bad."

"I think we all just need to step back and let Natsu and Gina find their own way," Erza says. "Be there to support them and comfort them in every way we can. Reserve judgment because we have no way of knowing what's best in a future like that. I am equally torn. I have come to love Gina as a member of this guild, and I can see how much they have grown to care for each other. But I've also met my Godchild - his firstborn - and I feel a debt to the protection of her future as well. Which means defending his choice to become a nymph Sire. We still don't know nearly enough about anything."

"You're right," Lucy says, wiping the tears from her eyes. "We have a lot of work cut out for us on this one."

* * *

"Gina," Natsu's gentlest tone calls her from a deep sleep.

She can feel love pouring over her body from above, and the sharp grass pressing against her skin where she fell asleep along the bank of the creek. She's not sure why she ran here, to Natsu's favorite fishing spot. It had seemed like a good place to remember a time when things were simpler and more at peace between them.

Back then, she drank in the sight of him and hadn't fully realized yet how serious her condition was. When she arrived today without him, she'd wept until she collapsed beside the bank and fallen asleep.

"Gina, baby," he says again. "Wake up."

She rolls over and opens her eyes, surprised to realize that he's hovering completely over her with an arm and a leg on each side of her body. His expression is anxious and he looks out of breath. She glances further around, looking for her ferret companion, Ming.

_Where is he?_

"Natsu?" she says, not sure what to ask first.

"Baby, you shouldn't sleep this close to the water," he says, glancing over. "You could fall in and drown."

"I'm fine," she says. _And stating the obvious. _"I thought you were leaving for the job."

"Oh yeah," he scoffs. "Like I'm going to just run off with you upset."

"I told you, I'm fine."

"I can still see the tear tracks on your cheeks." He wipes his fingers gently across them. "I'm sorry I hurt you."

Gina shrugs. "I'm sorry I'm so easily hurt. We're guildmates Natsu. You should always be able to choose who you want to go with you on a job. I'll just find something else."

She hears Ming chitter from the tree above them in a scolding tone. _Ah, there he is_.

"_Mavis_, no," Natsu says, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth.

"No?" Gina asks.

"Please," Happy whimpers from the air above her. She hadn't even realized he was here too. "Please don't go on any jobs, Gina. It's not safe."

_What? _Gina sits up slowly, pressing against Natsu's shoulders until he backs up. He changes course and sits down cross-legged on the tiny strip of land between her and the water.

"I thought you didn't want me to go on jobs with _you_," Gina says.

"Well, I sure as heck don't want you going on any _without _me!" he says, looking suddenly angry.

"But I thought that was just while you were gone for the games," she says. _None of this makes sense! _"Are you saying you don't want me to be in the guild?"

"No!" Natsu says, looking offended. "Just don't go out on any jobs."

"How on Earthland is that supposed to work?"

"I don't know," Natsu shrugs, "but Nab seems to manage it okay."

"So… I'm supposed to pay my bills with… what? Fairy dust?"

Technically, she has more than enough money to live off of without ever working again, as her dowry as a nymph Queen, but Natsu doesn't know about any of that so his plan is absurd. She's not even sure she could access that money without speaking with her father, who she's not ready to face.

"I'll pay for whatever you need," he says.

Gina meets his intense stare for a few moments. "You're serious."

"Dead serious."

"I can't believe this," she scoffs, feeling his words burn her like acid, in complete contrast to the gentle love she can sense wafting from him. But there's something dark there in his love. Again. "Natsu what is going _on_? Are you worried about my strength? My magic? I could fight you to show you what I've regained."

"No. That's not it."

"Then what?" she asks. "Happy, does he not think I'm a good match for the team? Now that Lucy's not training me in holding magic, do you need to shed the extra weight?"

"No way!" Happy shouts. "We're just scared for you, Gina! We…"

"Hush, Happy!" Natsu says, turning to cut him off.

"Why?" Gina asks, making Natsu turn to face her again. "Why would I _ever _do this? If you can't give me one good reason to…"

"Trust me," Natsu says, hanging his head with a hand over his eyes. "Gina, have you _ever _trusted me?"

_God, I trust you enough to choose you as my Sire, but I can't even tell you that. I'm so tired of lying to you! _"I trust you with my life, Natsu."

He raises his eyes and she's surprised to see unshed tears in them. "Then I'm asking you to trust me now. Please." His voice breaks. "You've never told me - even after everything that happened - what your illness was or how it worked. I've tried to respect that. You've told me that now you're safe. Your illness won't hurt you anymore. I'm trusting you."

"I don't want to lie to you anymore," Gina sighs. "But I still have things I cannot say. I will. Someday soon, I hope. Just… not today."

"As shitty as this sounds... this time, _I_ can't explain either," he says, surprising her again. "I can't say why I don't want you working jobs, but I don't."

"What specifically am I trying to avoid?" she asks, feeling dread well up in her stomach.

"Anything that could involve you in battle," he says. "No bounty hunting. No creatures. No crime rings. None of our normal gigs. I can't… I can't _handle _you being hurt."

"So… helping little old ladies find their lost cats?" she asks, testing the waters.

He looks conflicted. "Maybe that's okay, but it depends on where you find the cat. If it was abducted by some asshole, pull out. And stay close to the guild hall... or your apartment. In town. If I'm not around, check in with everybody and let them know where you're going. What you'll be doing."

"Natsu, this sounds like prison," she scoffs. "Are you still angry with me?"

"This isn't about me!" he screams, slamming a flaming fist into the dirt. "It's about keeping you safe!"

_Hmmm… _Gina wonders for a moment if the biological effects on the Sire of her species are having an effect on him despite not having full Sire status yet - making him paranoid and obsessed with her safety. _But no… he said there is something he can't tell… _Gina gasps. _I don't know anything about what the rest of the group saw in the mine! I know he met himself… what was he told? There are things from that which I can't tell either. God, this is another mess!_

"I told you, Natsu," she sighs. "I trust you with my life. I'll… try to come up with a way to make an income that doesn't involve taking on even semi-dangerous cat-thieving."

"Thank you," Natsu slumps forward. "I'll find a way to pay for both of us. I swear. I know what I'm asking is an extra burden, so it's only fair."

"The other members of the guild won't see it that way," she says. "They'll assume…"

"I tell it to them straight," he says. "I'm worried about you being in danger. You just came back from being so weak you nearly died. They'll understand."

"For a while," she concedes, wrapping her arms around her knees. "You… don't sound like you'll be around much."

Natsu looks over his shoulder into the water for a long time.

"The games were really hard for me," he finally whispers. He wears an angry expression but a tear slips down his cheek.

"What do you mean?" she asks. "I thought you'd love the competition."

"Lucy died," he whispers.

"What?" Gina asks, sitting back upright. "But I just saw her with you."

"It was a version of her from the future," he says, swiping at his tears, but more are coming now. "Believe it or not we ran right back into that crap _again_. I tried to stop the attack, but he was too quick. It hit her and…"

_Oh, Natsu! _

Gina crawls up into his lap and throws her arms around his neck. He buries his face in her shoulder and begins to really cry, his body shaking hers almost violently in grief. After a while, he starts explaining more of the story in fits and starts. She's amazed she missed so much, but she'd been holed up in her new apartment, too afraid to watch him having fun and hurt without him. She hadn't even seen the news.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers in his ear, running her hands through his salmon-colored hair, "Natsu, it's going to be okay. You saved her from that future. I'm so sorry you had to see it, but she's right here."

She glances over and sees Happy and Ming now sitting on the other side of the tree and gesturing back and forth.

"If you were hurt like that, Gina," Natsu says, pulling back to look her in the eyes. Then he clutches his chest and squeezes his eyes so tight it looks almost painful.

"Shhhh…." she tries to soothe him, leaning in to nudge his scarf aside and press a gentle kiss against his neck. "I'm right here. I'm okay. I'll do what you're asking, Natsu. I promise. Nothing is going to happen to me."

"I just want to hold you," he whispers, choking back another sob. "Like I used to hold you back at home. When we'd go to sleep at night. I know you don't need that anymore, but I…"

Gina doesn't hesitate. She's needed it for weeks. She pushes the vest off his shoulders, and presses against his chest, encouraging him to lie down on the vest like a blanket. Then she strips off her own over-shirt and lies it beside him. She curls up with her back against his chest, twines the fingers of his hand with her own and brings his arm around to tuck their joined hands beneath the edge of her soft belly.

"Like this?" she asks.

He nods against the bare skin of her shoulder, above her tank top.

"Happy," she calls out. "Natsu is going to make sure I'm safe, and that I don't roll into the creek in my sleep."

"That sounds really smart," Happy says in a soft voice. He pulls a tiny blanket from his little backpack and spreads it out across Natsu's shoulder. "Ming and I will go find some fish to eat in the market while Natsu takes care of you."

Natsu pulls her tight against his body, swamping her with the strength of his love for her. In a choked voice, he mumbles, "Thanks, little buddy."


	2. Chapter 2

As Gina walks into the guild hall the next day, Natsu is obviously not there yet. It's too quiet. Well, as much as Fairy Tail can ever be quiet. She heads for the bar instead.

"Hey, Mira," she calls with a wave. "It's great to have you back. Did you have a good time?"

"Hi, Gina!" Mirajane calls back. "You look amazing! Your color is still so beautiful. The games were a lot of fun overall. It got a little tense with those dragons, but it worked out alright in the end."

"Can you believe I didn't even hear about it until Natsu told me yesterday?"

"How… are things?" Mirajane asks, putting a glass away. "He was pretty rude yesterday, even compared to his usual."

"It's alright," Gina sighs. "He came and found me and we talked about it. I promised him I won't be going on jobs anymore."

"You _what?_" Lucy squeaks from behind her. "I mean… that's great. I think. I just…"

"Why?" Gray pipes up from behind her. They're both packed and ready to go.

"Lucy, he told me about you dying," Gina says, slipping up onto the bar stool. "Or, well… the Future You. I'm so sorry about that, by the way. To be honest, I think he's putting on a brave, happy face for everyone to see, but he's still very upset. I think it was too close to what happened to me, except this time he feels like he failed. I'm trying to show him that I'm going to be okay now, but I don't want to push him too hard if he needs me to give him some room."

"I think that's an incredibly mature decision," Erza says, approaching with a couple of her bags. "Pardon me for overhearing."

"It's alright," Gina says.

It's funny to hear people call her mature when they have no idea that she's almost a century old. Having a body still in its teens to twenties has odd results in daily life. At least it's a huge advantage when trying to seduce a human Sire Natsu's age.

"I'd rather all of you know the truth about what's going on," Gina says, "and I'd appreciate it if you would remind him of my promise if he seems like he's worrying while you're out on jobs. I'm a little concerned he may worry himself sick."

"It's alright, Gina," Erza says, placing a warm hand on Gina's shoulder. "We're all going to be there for him in whatever way we need to be. We're a family after all."

"Hey, everybody!" Natsu's voice suddenly booms from the direction of the front entrance.

Ming pops his head out of Gina's shoulder bag, finally electing to wake up, and scurries across the huge main floor towards the dragon slayer.

"Hey, Ming," Natsu calls after a few moments, "How's it hangin' little guy? Is Gina around here somewhere?"

"We're over here, Flame Brain!" Gray calls.

"Gina!" Happy screeches, flying over into her arms.

"Hello, Happy," Gina smiles, petting his fur. "How was your morning?"

"It was okay," Happy sighs. "I wish you were still at home. Natsu wasn't so grumpy when you lived with us too."

"Happy!" Lucy squeaks while Gray and Erza have a good laugh.

Natsu wanders up with Ming chittering on his shoulder, but the pink tint to his cheeks prove that his heightened senses helped him catch Happy's comment. Neither Gina or Natsu have spoken about her moving out.

"Well, maybe one of these days you can come visit my apartment," Gina says with a smile.

"Really?" Happy says, perking up. "That would be so cool!"

"Who, uh, helped you move?" Natsu asks, rubbing the back of his neck without looking at her.

Great. Now no one in the whole group is making eye contact. "Oh, Laki and Kinana mostly. Macao and Romeo helped a little bit with the new furniture, but I didn't really have much."

"Do you have everything you need?" Natsu asks, focusing on her face.

"Yes, I'm fine," Gina says. _Wow, we sound stiff. _

"Well, I still think Happy and I should check it out in case there's something else you could use," Natsu shrugs.

"Sure," Gina says. "But I think it'll have to be after you guys get back, right?"

"She's right," Erza says. "You and Lucy need to head out as soon as possible to make the deadline. Gray and I will be taking Wendy on a job nearby."

"Alright, let's head out," Gray says, waving towards the front door. "We should be back in a few days."

"I'll see you then," Gina calls.

Natsu doesn't move as everyone else files out. He just watches her.

"I didn't realize how much healthier you really look," he finally says. "You're even hotter than the first day you got here."

Now it's Gina's turn to blush. She feels warmed by the lust in the air between them, and by the memory of him calling her beautiful when she was in her natural state in the woods. He still doesn't know that the fire nymph he shared his passion with was actually her. She slips off of her barstool and walks up closer to him.

"Thank you," she says. "I'm… going to miss you again. I'm sorry I was ever so mean to you."

He steps right up into her personal space, so close that she can feel the heat from his body. "I don't care about that."

"Do you…" She's not sure how to put it. "Do you think we could just... start over?"

"Hell no," he says, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh." She looks away.

He places a hand beneath her chin and she feels her magic flare at his touch once again, sending a soft pleasure racing through her.

"You didn't trust me back then," he says, slowly wrapping an arm around her waist and drawing her body against him. "You were afraid of me. I don't miss that fear in your eyes, and I don't want it back. I want to…" He drops his head and brushes his lips back and forth against hers. "I want this."

Natsu slants his mouth over hers and isn't the least bit unsure of himself as he tastes her tongue. He wraps his arms around her, lifting her slightly off her feet. She tangles her fingers in his unruly pink hair, feeling strength pour into her, fortifying her for the long days he'll be gone. He doesn't even know what being a Sire means, but his instincts are dead-on, as usual.

"Hey, Natsu!" Macao calls from somewhere beside them with a loud laugh. "Your party's leaving, buddy. You going to work, or what?"

Natsu breaks away, letting her down gently as he catches his breath. "I'd love to see your apartment when I get home."

"Okay," Gina whispers against his lips. "I'll keep my promise, so you have to be safe too."

"Oh yeah," he gives her his signature cocky grin. "And I'll bring you back a nice trophy."

She waves until he's completely out of sight.

* * *

Juvia is torn between watching her beloved Gray walk out of the guild hall and watching Gina and Natsu share a moment of obvious passion.

_What would it be like to be loved like that?_

After the Grand Magic Games, Gray spoke with her. He made it clear that he understood how she felt, but his heart belongs to her rival, Lucy. She wants to support him however she can but has been hiding her pain too. It's easier since Kairi, her new mother, has been teaching her about controlling the rain & her emotions. This weird not-Gray named Lyon had also complicated matters by raving about how wondrous she was during the whole competition.

_Talk about weird... _

As Natsu leaves, Juvia glances at Gina once again, knowing it must be too soon to see the child she is carrying now, but wishfully dreaming about hearing the baby announcements in the coming weeks. _What will Natsu and Gina's first daughter look like? _

"Gina!" she calls.

Gina turns and her face turns into a radiant smile as she rushes over. "Oh my gosh, Juvia! How have you been?"

"I'm dying to ask you the same question," Juvia says, giving her a hug. "Should I buy pink or red dresses?"

"What?" Gina asks, raising an eyebrow.

"You know," Juvia says with a blush, then whispers, "For your daughter."

Gina's eyes go wide for a moment, and she grabs Juvia's hand towing her towards the exit. "We need to talk. Have you seen my new apartment?"

"You mean, you're not staying with Natsu anymore?" Juvia asks, feeling like she's been hit by a blast of Gray's ice.

"No," Gina says, heading out into the streets. "I'm at Fairy Hills now, and there's a lot more you need to know. I may need your help."

* * *

Gina unlocks the door to her apartment, careful to cancel out the sealing spell first. With Natsu's habit of breaking into apartments whenever it pleases him, she can't risk him coming in here when she hasn't prepped the area first.

"Oh, my," Juvia whispers as they step inside. "I had no idea you draw. Are those… wait. Are those Natsu?"

Gina closes the door and quickly applies a sound barrier seal to the door again. Ming skitters out of her bag and up into the new hammock he insists on sleeping in. It's a scarf she found in the market that looks a lot like the dragon slayer's favorite accessory.

"Yes, sort of," Gina says, turning back around.

The one-room apartment is littered with paper and pencils on every available surface. The only exception is the enormous four-poster bed in the far corner, fit to give a Sire the best rest and best pleasure he could imagine. She's not sure when he'll use it, but no mated nymph Queen would ever be caught without one in her own home. Everywhere else, her sketches are on easels, hanging from the walls, stacked in corners and across counters. Her largest piece nearly takes up an entire wall.

"Is this how you imagine him in the future?" Juvia asks, lifting a hand to that particular drawing.

"Actually, no," Gina says, swallowing hard. "All of these are drawn from memory. It's my Siren's Song."

"Siren's song?" Juvia asks.

"Your new mother didn't teach you?" she asks, a bit alarmed.

When Gina first arrived at Fairy Tail, Juvia had been completely unaware that she was not only a water nymph but a Queen. She'd believed herself to be only a rain woman - a clever water nymph myth to explain away their existence. She had been at risk of fading, however, when Gina and another water nymph Queen, Kairi Wells, discovered that her parents had died years before. Kairi and her Sire, Elrick, elected to adopt Juvia for her health and see to her training as a young Queen.

"Didn't Kairi tell you about it?" Gina asks with concern.

"It was mentioned in my studies," Juvia says with a blush, "but we didn't have much time before I had to return to Fairy Tail. It's supposed to be covered later."

"Oh," Gina sighs. "Well, other than being a mother, your Siren's Song is the greatest responsibility of every Queen. It tells the story of your life, how you met your Sire and came to love him, and catalogs the history of your growing family."

"Do you think my mother had one?"

"She must have, but I'm not sure if you'd be able to find it. Every Queen uses a medium of her choice. My mother preferred the oral tradition of song, but I'm not particularly gifted in that area. I choose to draw my story."

"But this Natsu…" Juvia says, hesitating with her fingers a fraction of an inch from the massive portrait. "He has a Sire mark."

"Yeah," Gina sighs. "I've tried to recreate it from my memory, but I know the mark is flawed. I wish I had an image to work from. Juvia… I'm not pregnant."

"What?" Juvia turns around with a squeak. "Are you still going to fade?"

"No," Gina hedges. "But… you must know. What I'm about to tell you would not be accepted as truth by any other nymph alive, as far as I know."

"Why not?" Juvia glances around, but Gina has no couch yet, so she sits down gracefully on the floor.

Gina joins her and explains the whole crazy story of how Natsu manipulated time from 400 years in the future to come back and save her. Instead of making love to her, he had performed an odd form of one of a Sire's most powerful healing spells, the Amorous Merth, and forced her body to accept his place as her Sire. Her tissues had rapidly repaired, curing her of all the damage from her attempted fade and from her elemental poisoning. She'd woken up in the airship Christina's infirmary, with the present-day Natsu at her bedside.

"Dearest waters," Juvia says, standing up and beginning to pace. "So… you are his Queen, but… he isn't your Sire?"

"Not yet."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Juvia squeaks. "I was told a human male only receives his Sire mark after the Queen has conceived their firstborn."

"I believed that too," Gina sighs. "Everyone does, as far as I know, but I can prove it. Did you see a mark on Natsu when you saw him?"

"Well, now that you mention it… I just assumed it would be under his scarf because you were home and healed."

"That makes sense," Gina says, "but he doesn't have one at all. Look at my mark now."

Gina raises her shirt and displays the tattoo-like nymph mark in a ring around her belly button.

"It's bigger than it was before!" Juvia squeaks. "What does that mean?"

"The script is our native language in its original written form. I can read it, but only because of years of practice. The inner ring of markings spells out the name of my Origin Sire, my Dad, Axis Asterope. This new, larger outer ring spells out the name of the Sire I've chosen, Natsu Dragneel."

"How did he do it?" Juvia asks, glancing at the Natsu on the wall in awe. "His Sire Mark is huge!"

"I know," Gina smirks. "As you know, every one of those little flowers is one of our living children in his time, and every thorn is one we've lost along the way - at any age. A Sire's children are born from a combination of his DNA and his magical energy. The more powerful a Sire is, the more children he generally has. That… mark is impressive. As far as how he did it… I'm still not sure. He said my magical system didn't know his body yet, but his had already known mine for hundreds of years. In the end… it felt like I had to choose him. I had to admit to him and to myself that he is who I wanted, and the next thing I knew… wham! I was hit with enough magical energy to restore me in minutes instead of weeks or months. It sounds crazy, but I swear it's true."

"But can he heal you now?" Juvia asks. "Without his own mark?"

"I don't think so," Gina says, wrapping her arms around her knees. "We don't seem to have a complete bond yet. I'm healed enough to last a very long time, probably years more if I need. I can feel his love feeding me, but I can also tell it will never draw from him at a dangerous level again. If I'm seriously injured, though, I don't know what would happen. I don't believe Axis would have the right to heal me any longer, but Natsu couldn't either. I'm kind of… without a Sire at all at the moment. That's part of why I realized his fear for me might not be silly. I should avoid combat if I can."

"So what will you do?" Juvia asks.

"I'm not sure yet. What about you? What do you plan to do, now that you know what you are?"

"Well," Juvia says sitting back down. "My darling Gray is… he's in love with someone else. I know now that I need to find a Sire too, but Kairi and Elrick say I have lots of time. I think for now I want to stay at Fairy Tail with my friends, and with you."

"Are you going to tell Makarov what you are?"

"Should I?"

"I don't know," Gina thinks about it for a few minutes. "If you convinced him to sign a contract - although he may hate that idea now because of me - it could protect your secret but also give Fairy Tail a right to intervene if you needed it. I could go with you. I think… I think it's time I talked to Makarov anyway. He still doesn't know what brought me back to health, but he knows it can't be what everyone thinks. Oh crap! He might think I'm pregnant too!"

"Oh dear," Juvia says. "We should tell him right away. He could get angry if he thinks you're hiding a pregnancy from Natsu."

"Good grief!" Gina says, leaping to her feet and grabbing Juvia by the hand, "Let's go!"

She pauses to look back. "You don't have to go with me, Juvia. If you want to stay hidden, I will go alone."

"No," Juvia says, raising a fist with a determined expression. "We Queens are in this together. I will help you with anything you need. And maybe someday… you can help me when I find my own love?"

"I will," Gina says with a watery smile. "I swear."


	3. Chapter 3

Makarov looks down at the new contract, with such deep frown lines Gina wonders if his face may crack.

"Why on Earthland did you go to Gildarts for this instead of me?" he asks with a glare.

"I didn't," Gina sighs, "He cornered _me, _and you were the one who didn't want to be Master at the time."

**Natsu had been gone for training for the Grand Magic Games for three days. She thought they planned to come back every night but is trying desperately not to worry. **

"**Hey there, little lady," a familiar voice calls from behind her. **

**She turns to see a large man with an old cloak standing behind her with a huge smile. Searching her memory she realizes who he is. **

"**Master Gildarts?" she asks. Makarov hasn't made the formal announcement yet, but she'd heard that he will be taking up the mantle. **

"**Eh, yeah," he says rubbing his head. "That still freaks me out, but I guess so. I was hoping to get the chance to catch up with you before everything gets crazy. You're new around here, right?"**

"**Yeah, although it doesn't seem like it," she smiled, but it felt weak. **

"**Mind stepping into my, ehr… office. I guess." He looks ill at using the term. **

**She walked inside and sat down across from what used to be Makarov's old desk. She expected him to take Makarov's chair, but instead, he crouched down in front of her, trapping her in with his strong arms. Her heart leapt into her throat. This is the man Natsu considers like a second father. She never imagined he would be a threat, but the magical power flowing from him is suddenly intense and terribly frightening. **

"**What are you doing?" she squealed like a frightened child. **

"**We're going to have a little conversation, you and I," he says with narrowed eyes. "And if I don't like what I hear, you're going to be out of this guild hall tonight."**

"**You can't do that!" She felt panic rising in her. **_**Would Natsu come find her?**_

"**I'm the new guild master, lady," he said. "I can do whatever I want. Now… I've met quite a few nymphs in my time. So you're going to explain to me why you're still hanging around our Natsu after all this time. Surely you've bedded him by now."**

**Her mind feels stuck. "You've… how do you know what I am?"**

"**I already told you," he smirks. "I know your kind real well. Most of them don't know that I know, but I figure **_**they **_**don't need to if they think **_**I **_**don't need to. Know what I mean? You ladies seem to be drawn to powerful wizards, and I know you feed off of our emotions, but it's usually harmless. I throw them a night of pleasure, or maybe a few, and they keep moving. You, though, have been clinging to our boy like a little leech for weeks now. Word is, you almost killed him. And I'm sorry sweetheart, but I've got a big problem with that."**

"**It's not what you think," she said. "I had an agreement with Makarov. Here. See for yourself."**

**She'd pulled out her lipstick case that held the original contract with Makarov and the Fairy Tail guild. It showed that she was originally paying for access to Fairy Tail to learn more about, and possibly meet, Natsu. The contract swore all members of the guild that knew about her identity as a nymph to secrecy from other members, including Natsu.**

"**That contract technically holds you to secrecy too," she'd dared to point out. **

**The flare of magic power that flowed from him made her tremble. Then he kept reading. **

"**You're a Queen?!" he'd squawked so loud she'd thrown a hand over his mouth. **

"**Shhh! You didn't seal the door for sound," she'd scolded. **

"**Good Gods…" Gildarts had said after looking back at the document. "But wait. This says you decided to move on and closed the contract out. Why are you still here?"**

"**Well, that's when everything got messy." **

**She'd explained trying to run from Fairy Tail, helping the dying nymphs from Atlantia and learning she was dying herself, and then the flight with Gajeel to escape Natsu. Gildarts sat back from her as she started explaining the crazy job involving time travel and the Natsu from the future. Then she explained her current predicament. **

"**You're… you're saying he's going to be a… what did you call it?" he choked. **

"**A Sire," she said. **

"**And he's gonna have **_**how many**_ **kids?" **

**Gina blushes. "I don't know exactly. He was probably still having children when he came back for me. Hundreds."**

"**Hundreds," Gildarts seemed to wheeze. "Does he have any say in this?"**

"**Of course," Gina sighed. "That's why I'm in so much trouble now."**

**Gildarts narrowed his eyes and stared her down for a full ten minutes while she resisted the urge to squirm. Then with a deep sigh, he finally said, "Well, I'm not going to let this get any worse on my watch. We'll get this sorted out, you and me."**

After listening to her story, Juvia looks amazed and Makarov is rubbing his temples and grinding his teeth.

"What did that nincompoop promise you this time? What kind of contract will I want to chew up now?" Makarov asks.

"I don't think you'll object to it," Gina says, swallowing hard, "but you tell me."

She points back down to the new document and he reads it multiple times before looking up.

"Do you ever plan to use this?" he asks.

"Goodness, I hope not," Gina admits. "But I'm trying to protect Natsu from all possibilities."

"Your people have really never run into this problem before? Ever?" he asks.

"Not to my knowledge," she says.

"My new mother said the same thing," Juvia chimes in. "She said Gina would either die, or she would come back pregnant with Natsu's child. She wasn't sure if the child would survive if she did, but she was hoping it would happen that way."

"I'm very happy to learn that you've learned more about yourself, Juvia," Makarov says, extending his hand out to her. "I also appreciate you telling me what you really are. Fairy Tail would always do everything in our power to protect you because you are one of our own. I have no problem also protecting the information about what you are from anyone else, but at least in an emergency, I will know more about how to help or heal you."

"Thank you, Master," Juvia says.

"Gina," Makarov says, rubbing his temples again. "I am happier than I can say to learn that you're not hiding a child from my boy."

"He's a grown man," she objects.

"That he is," he nods with a smile, "but I am concerned about what the future may hold for both of you. Do you plan to take him from us?"

"No," Gina says with a gasp. "The biggest reason I didn't want to choose him is the amount of pain he will suffer outliving those here that he loves. But if he is willing to endure that, if it's what he wants, I would never take him from this family. Even all those years in the future, he was still wearing his guild stamp."

Makarov smiles. "Well then. I'll just hold onto this new agreement and hope we all get to forget it and shred it one day in celebration. I have to admit, while I'm mildly terrified at the thought of that many of his kids running around… who better than this family to help you teach them about the world? Welcome to the guild, Gina."

* * *

Natsu walks back into the guild hall, sniffing the air to see if Gina is around. Her scent is here, and recently. He starts to follow his nose until someone grabs him by the left arm.

"Hey man!" the interrupter shouts.

It takes Natsu a moment to realize it's Sting Eucliffe, the new master of the Sabertooth guild. Thankfully, Sting's huge smile seems to indicate that he doesn't realize how close he just came to getting decked. He's wearing that fuzzy vest and short shirt he likes. _But come on man... if you're gonna show off your abs, you've gotta go all the way or you're wussing out. Whatever. The guy also has no scarf, so obviously, his fashion sense is about as good as Gray's. _

"Just the guy we came to see!" Sting says with a slap to Natsu's back. "I heard you've been out bustin' your ass on jobs for a while. How've you been?"

"You should give him a minute to get settled," Yukino Aguria says from beside Sting.

Now she has decent fashion sense despite her poorly-dressed friends. She knows how to show off her figure well, but Gina still has every other woman in Earthland beat. Just the thought of Gina again makes Natsu's body tighten and his patience frays a little more. Rogue Cheney and the exceeds Frosch and Lector are all here too. He doesn't want to be rude, but he sniffs the air again.

"We heard you guys got a pool like we did," Rogue says, "and Frosch wanted to check it out."

"You lookin' for somebody?" Sting asks.

"Ah no," Natsu says, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry man. I'm just getting in. You know how it is. One job led to another and - like usual - we've been gone a while. I just stopped by to see how everyone is doing."

They'd ended up gone a lot longer than he'd planned. He's desperate to lay eyes on Gina, see her safe and sound and... whoa.

Gina is walking in the back entrance into the bar from the new pool. She's in a swimsuit he hasn't seen before, a pair of jean short-shorts and high-heeled sandals that would almost make him and her the same height. Her jet black curls are piled in a drool-inducing messy bun and it looks wet. The swimsuit is like an incredibly sexy combination of a bikini and a one-piece, with the top and bottom connected by a long, thin section that covers the tattoo on her stomach. The suit is black and red with flame patterns like the bikini before it. The fact that he knows her tattoo is there beneath that little strip of fabric makes him want to push the material aside and nibble at it, to see if she'd giggle when...

Sting's low whistle snaps Natsu out of his little fantasy.

"I swear," Sting laughs. "You guys seem to get this endless supply of drop-dead gorgeous women. Thank the heavens for Yukino or we'd look washed up."

"Don't be ridiculous," Yukino sighs, pushing at Sting's arm. "People join guilds because of our strength and reputation."

"Yeah," Lucy scoffs as she breezes by. "Tell that to Sorcerer Weekly. Hi Gina! We're back."

After a minute talking with Lucy, Gina finally walks up close and Natsu feels too stupid for a second to know what to say. Then when Gina raises an eyebrow, he gives his head a shake. _Don't just stand here like an idiot! _

"Hey guys," he says, taking Gina by the hand. "This is my friend, Gina Asterope. Gina, this is Sting, Rogue, Yukino, Lector, and Frosch."

For some weird reason, Gina looks annoyed.

"Oh, we already met man," Sting laughs.

"Gina was kind enough to show us the new pool," Yukino says. "We've been here since this morning."

"Oh, my bad," Natsu says, glancing back at Gina. _What the heck did I do?_

"I'm glad you're home," Gina finally says, giving her head a shake. "What happened to your arm?"

He glances down at the bandage covering his scratch. "Oh, no big deal. The last creepy thing we fought just had some pretty wicked teeth. Why are you all wet?"

Gina's mouth kicks up into a sexy smirk. Sting and Rogue both suddenly blush so hard Natsu notices them turn away. Then with a gentle sniff, he feels like he's been zapped by Laxus when he catches the faint scent of arousal mixed into her scent.

_Holy shit! I didn't mean... Whoa. Wait. Why would she...?_

"Oh, you noticed?" Gina asks, tossing a few of her soaked curls as he catches the scent of chlorine too.

_Oh, duh. And... now the baby dragon slayers are turning purple. That can't be healthy._

"I just got done teaching my class," Gina says with a huge smile.

"Class?" Natsu asks. _Geez, I'm too tired to sound like anything but stupid._

"Yeah," Gina says, leaning forward to put her arms around his neck.

The scent of her surrounds him and the hint of arousal in it is enough to make him crazy. He wants to just pull her against him, kiss the hell out of her, and ignore everyone else. But that would be SO awkward at the moment.

"I'm teaching aqua aerobics in the pool now," Gina says. "Twice a week. Juvia and I are doing it together."

That finally pulls his brain out of his pants. "What for?"

"For what we talked about before you left," Gina says, and the little devil nibbles at the side of his jaw. "Are you still coming to my apartment like you promised?"

"Uh, yeah," Natsu says with a hard swallow. "Sure thing. I'm still gross, though. I haven't even been home yet."

"It's pretty late. You can shower at my place," Gina says. "Or you could just stay after dinner. Or both."

"Really?" _Awesome! _Natsu scans the room for Happy and calls out, "Hey little buddy, let's run home and grab our stuff!"

"At least this one time, though, you have to come in through the door," Gina says with a giggle. "Not the window."

"Where's the fun in that?" he asks with a grin.

"My apartment, my rules," Gina says.

Then she leans in and gives him a kiss to rock him all the way down to his toes. She tastes like chocolate fire and her scent makes his head spin. It's so good he would swear he doesn't even smell Ming. Her soft chest is pressed against his and her fingernails dance along his scalp. He's about two seconds from picking her up and walking out of the guild hall when she pulls away.

"Don't take so long that I give up on you," she says with a wink and then she struts on those cute little heels all the way out the door.

"Holy dragons!" Sting whispers from beside him a moment later. "She's _your _girlfriend?"

"I told you," Rogue sighs, "that you were going to look foolish assuming she was that new around here."

"I noticed that she was much more interested when we were telling stories about Natsu," Yukino says with a blush.

"She was?" Natsu asks at the same time that Sting asks, "You did?"

"Yes," Yukino says. "I thought she just wanted to learn more about you. I didn't realize you were dating."

_Are we dating? _Natsu wonders. It's still a little disorienting to realize how quickly they've gone from _'Don't touch me'_ to... Jeez. Whatever the heck level they're on now. _Did we skip something somewhere?_

"Sorry guys," Natsu says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Things between Gina and I are, uh, complicated."

"Yeah, sure," Sting laughs.

"What do you mean?" Rogue asks looking concerned.

"I don't think you've mentioned her before," Yukino says.

"Yeah, I did," Natsu says, standing up a little straighter. _I shouldn't get defensive. They wouldn't know._ "Remember when I told you about my friend that almost died recently?"

"_That_ was her?" Sting asks, his hands falling slack against his sides. "Man, I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"We kinda got close because we had to and because everything was so intense," Natsu says with a shrug. "It all still feels kinda new to me."

"Well, I think she's lovely," Rogue says with a smile.

"Yeah, congrats man. Seriously," Sting gives him another slap on the back. "I can't imagine how awesome it must be to have someone like that to come home to."

_Come home to..._ "Thanks, guys," Natsu says with a grin. "Speaking of which... Happy! We're movin' out!"

"Aye sir!" he hears Happy call from across the room as they both head for the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Natsu stands in front of Gina's door and it reminds him out of standing in front of her hotel room all those months ago — the first time she kissed him. He's kissed her multiple times since then but his stomach does a little nervous flip now anyway. She's been in his house before. But... she'd just woken up there and was stuck after being so sick. It probably doesn't count. He's never been over to her place before. She didn't even have a place before...

"Natsu?" He spins around with a gulp at the sound of Erza's voice. She's standing in the hallway in nothing but a towel and she looks extra scary. "What are you doing in Fairy Hills?"

"This is Gina's apartment," he squeaks. "I was gonna..."

"We're gonna eat!" Happy says.

Erza relaxes her stance but narrows her eyes. "You don't look like you've even cleaned up."

"I was gonna use her shower," Natsu says, watching her for any sudden movements. "She said I could before dinner."

"It's awfully late," Erza says. "Are you planning to stay?"

"Uh, yeah," Natsu swallows. "It's not against the rules, is it?"

Erza reaches out in a flash and grabs the back of his vest and begins hauling him down the hallway, holding her towel closed with the other arm. "Happy. You stay here," she says.

"I didn't do any-"

"Hush," she orders before backing him up against the wall around the corner. "Natsu." Erza sighs. "It occurs to me that we've never really talked about... safe sex."

"What?!" He nearly chokes. "Oh no! Erza. Whoa. We do not need to do this right now. I swear."

"Well, I'm not going to slack off on my responsibility and wait until it's too late," Erza says. "I've already had one good scare with you."

"Oh, man," Natsu squirms in her grip. "Erza. I know how everything works. We don't need to..."

"Knowing what to do is one thing," she says, requipping a small pouch into her hand. "Actually using protection is entirely different. I expect you to use it."

Something smooth and crinkly is shoved into his hand and he wishes he could turn into a puff of smoke when he realizes it's a stack of condoms.

"Jeez, Erza," he says, feeling irritated and embarrassed. "How many rounds do you expect me to have in one night? Just take these back."

"My experience is that you overindulge in just about everything," she says, crossing her arms over her chest. "And don't you dare give them back. If you get her pregnant because you're not careful, Natsu, I swear I will break every bone in your body. Twice."

* * *

"Happy?" Gina's says as she opens the door. "Where is Natsu?"

"Erza went all scary-ninja, big-sister on him and drug him down the hallway," Happy says, flying into the apartment.

"She did?" Gina wishes she could have seen that. "What for?"

"I don't know," Happy says.

Ming skitters down from his perch and runs out the door in a flash. She leaves the door ajar and turns to head for her kitchen corner when she hears Natsu shout.

"Hey! Get back here! Ming! Give that back!"

Gina sighs. _He's going to disturb the neighbors. Hopefully, I won't be in this apartment too long anyway. _

Ming rushes up her leg and perches on her shoulder. He's got something shiny in his teeth, which isn't all that surprising. He loves all things shiny.

"What have you got now?" she asks.

Natsu bursts through her door just as she's turned it around to see it's a small set of condoms. _Well, that's encouraging. Not that they'll do us any good..._ There is no safe form of birth control for Nymph Queens when sleeping with a fire mage but Natsu wouldn't know that. Natsu's expression is both horrified and angry, which doesn't make much sense.

"Are these yours?" she asks, trying to lighten the mood.

"No," he grinds out. "They're not. Erza forced them on me and then he stole them."

Gina fights very hard not to laugh. "It's okay, Natsu. Here," she says with a toss. "You can have them back. I'm not upset by it. Ming likes shiny things." _And he was trying to help us along, I'm sure._ "Anyway, dinner's ready, but you should shower first."

Natsu finally relaxes and looks around. "Wow, it's really small," he says. "I mean. It's nice. It really is, I just..."

"I don't need much space. I just need enough room to eat, sleep and draw really."

"You don't have any furniture." He turns in a circle.

"Yes I do," she nods to the big bed in the corner behind him.

He turns to look at it and gets the most adorable blush, glances at the condoms in his hand again and blushes even harder.

"I mean, what else do I really need?" she asks.

She's trying to reign her charm magic back. It's harder than it's ever been before, now that she knows what she wants. It would be completely unfair to use on him, though. He's inexperienced as far as she knows, and in her heart, she doesn't want to trick him. She wants him to become her Sire by choice. Somehow...

"It's a, uh, nice bed," he says with a swallow. "Where do you want me to, uh..."

"You don't want to share like we did before?" she asks.

"I'm down for that," he says, straightening up and getting a slightly devilish grin. "I just didn't want you to think I expected it or anything."

"Well, go shower off before the food gets cold," she says, giving him a shove towards the tiny bathroom.

* * *

After Natsu is done cleaning up, he glances around the bathroom again. There's barely enough room to turn around in here. There's a shower but no bathtub. That seems totally awful considering how often Lucy raves about the power of a hot bath for a woman.

The image of Gina soaking in a hot bath floods his mind and he lets his imagination run wild for just a minute. He closes his eyes and breathes the scent of her soap and shampoos deeper into his lungs. It's different from the fiery scent of her skin but nearly as sweet as the chocolate she often smells like. Her jet black curls would be silky and heavy in the water and the skin of her legs would be smooth and slick with soap as she ran her hand up...

Scratch. Scratch.

Natsu shakes his head trying to clear it and adjusts his clothes before opening the door. Ming is standing there with a small piece of paper in his teeth.

"What's that, little guy?" Natsu asks, letting the little ferret run up his leg. _Wow, Gina must be washing him more often 'cause he hardly smells anymore._

Natsu snatches the paper and turns it over, feeling his mouth run dry almost immediately. It's a sketch of Gina in her new bathing suit. She's lying back in one of the pool lounge chairs in a position a lot like the one he'd been conjuring up for her fantasy bath.

_Wait a minute..._ "Gina, who drew this?"

He'd felt like marching back into her kitchen, but the trip was over in only a couple of steps. _I swear this entire apartment is smaller than my main rooms._

"Drew what?" Gina asks turning around. "Where did you get that?"

_Oh, oops._ "Uh, Ming brought it to me," he says with a shrug.

"You brat," Gina chuckles, lifting Ming off her shoulder and shooing him up into a scarf hanging above her bed.

"Hey, that scarf looks like mine."

"Yeah, he's decided it's the only way he'll sleep anymore," she says. "Thanks for that. As for the picture, I drew it about a week ago."

"Oh, wow. That must be really hard to do when you can't see yourself."

"Oh, no. Not really." Gina shrugs. "I know what I look like and I can always use a mirror for reference."

The thought of Gina lying in front of a mirror to check her sketch makes the room a little hotter.

"Of course, that one was easier anyway because I was just copying it off of Reedus's painting."

"What?" Natsu shouts. The thought of the pict mage sitting around and painting Gina at the poolside makes Natsu irrationally angry. "What was he painting you for?"

"He paints the guild members all the time, doesn't he?"

"Well, yeah..." Natsu says, swallowing his anger. _I'll find that painting and I'll burn it. No... even better. I'll buy it!_

"Besides," Gina says with a wave of her hand. "I asked him to. Want to see it?"

"Uh, sure." Natsu glances around. _How can it be hiding in a place this small? Oh, and,_ "Where the heck is Happy?"

"I'm in heaven," Happy's voice drifts over from Gina's sinfully-amazing-looking bed.

Happy is lying in some kind of plush cat bed, sitting above the monster of a headboard. He's sprawled out like he's already eaten too much.

"Oh, what?" Natsu complains. "You just went ahead and ate without me?"

"Oh, I didn't think you'd mind," Gina says turning around with a worried expression. "I've already gotten what I need too. But I did make something special for you."

"Oh," Natsu says rubbing the back of his head. "No, that's okay. You didn't have to."

"Here's the painting," Gina says, pulling out one of Reedus's largest canvases.

_Oh man... it's even better in full color!_ "Why did you ask him to make it?"

"I wanted to start the aqua aerobics classes," Gina says, pulling out a plate with a sandwich the size of his head on it.

The sandwich smells delicious. It's got four, no five layers of meat and at least 3 different condiments on it from what he can see and smell. It's also got salad-like stuff on it which he's skeptical about. The first bite, though, changes his mind entirely. It's definitely the best one he's had in his life and that says a lot. He's traveled all over Fiore.

"Holy shit," he mumbles around a mouth full of food. Her smirk makes him swallow and try again. "I mean, wow. This is freakin' awesome. You could give Mira a run for her money down at the bar."

"I thought about it," Gina shrugs, "but I like the classes better."

"Wait." Natsu tries to mentally back up his conversation. "Why does Reedus painting you have anything to do with starting up your class?"

"Because I needed students, obviously," Gina laughs. "Reedus took a few days to paint that to the quality I wanted. That meant I got to sit by the poolside most of the day every day and talk to everyone who came by. The women loved the idea and some are excited about getting in better shape. There are quite a few men in the class too."

_Oh, I bet there are..._ Natsu takes another vicious bite of the sandwich to keep from saying something stupid. He'd bet money even more of them hang around the poolside to gawk without ever bothering to swim. _That's actually pretty normal, though. And a good idea._

"It worked like a charm," Gina says, and there's a funny glint in her eyes that makes him pause. "Of course, now I have a different problem."

"What's that?" he manages to swallow before asking.

"I have nowhere to hang it," she says with a sigh. "It's too nice to just be shoved in the back of my closet, but I need the room on the walls for my own sketches."

He glances around the room at them. There are sketches of the guild hall, his cabin, some of the quests they've gone on as a team, and even the burned down house in Atlantia. He suddenly remembers kissing her there to fake out the angry ice golem that turned out to be a bunch of water nymphs. Then it feels like his freight train of thoughts veers dangerously off course.

He remembers the fire nymph from the forest. The feeling of her flames under his hands and the flavor of her against his tongue hit him like a punch to the gut all over again. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen and she'd tricked him into nearly believing she was going to jump his bones right there while he tried to stall her until help arrived. Instead, she'd knocked him out with something and disappeared. Then his future self had come back and told him that very woman would someday be his wife and the mother of his kids.

_No way! _The same asshole - _how did I ever get to be such a jerk?_ \- said that Gina is going to die, but he's not going to let that happen. _Over my dead body!_

"Are you alright?" Gina's voice from behind his shoulder makes him jump and he spins back around.

Her hands slide over his shoulders and up around his neck and his magic trembles at her touch. He used to think that only happened because she was sick, but maybe it'll always be that way. It feels incredibly good, whatever it is, and she doesn't seem frightened of it anymore.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry."

"Natsu, something is bothering you," Gina sighs, pressing her soft, delicious curves against his front and setting the empty plate somewhere off to the side. "Don't you think I can tell?"

"I just saw your drawing of that burned-out house in Atlantia," he shrugs. "It made me think about all those nymphs and how..."

_Wait a second..._ he turns back to the sketch and it looks exactly the way he remembers. Row after row of burned up beds and a cradle overturned and scorched. It had looked more like a dormitory than a house. _But there were a lot of nymphs and they'd been there a long time._

"Do you think they lived in there?" he asks.

"Who?"

"Those water nymphs we helped," Natsu says. "They were protecting that house when they attacked us. Levy said they found out the guy who lived there was a Nymph Sire." _Just like I'm supposed to be..._

"Who told her that?" Gina asks, clinging to his neck a little tighter.

"The guy that adopted them," Natsu says, still feeling something pulling at his memory, just out of reach. "He said all Nymph Sires are human guys."

Gina's eyes are wide, but she doesn't seem to have anything to add. _Come on.. what is it?!_ Then he remembers his own voice.

**"Nymph hunters get no quarter from me," his future self had seethed at the enemy wizards.**

**"You mean **_**people **_**hunt nymphs?" Gray had asked. **

When he'd asked what they were hunted for, his future self had said they were drained of their magical energy and enslaved like living lacrima. He looks back at the sketch, really looks, and the bottom falls out of his stomach. Row after row of little beds. _He said my kids are going to be nymphs... They were _hunting _Destiny and Scarlet! _

"Natsu," Gina's voice cuts through the numb feeling taking over his face. "Natsu, look at me. Look at me."

"What?" he asks and a tear escapes from his right eye when he blinks.

"You're shaking." Gina says, wiping the tear away with her thumb. "What's wrong? What is it?"

He tries to swallow past the lump in his throat. "We were also told about nymph hunters." He leaves out the fact that they weren't told by the new nymph colony. "I think... I think nymph hunters did that to their house."

"You mean in Atlantia?" Gina asks. "Nymph hunters or not, what happened there was obviously terrible. You were mad when you were there, remember?"

"Yeah, but it's so much worse to think they were being hunted." He pulls back from Gina and turns away, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes to battle the tears and keep the rage inside. "Holy Dragons, how many of them didn't even die in the house? How many were just taken?"

_Scarlet and Destiny were okay, but Future Me said I had other kids. What if I can't protect them all? What if I'm not strong enough? He said I can't even protect Gina! So how the hell am I supposed to..._

Suddenly, the smell of Gina envelops him and her arms close around his waist. Her soft breasts are pressed against his back and her head comes to rest down on his shoulder. She shushes him quietly and her lips press against the heated skin at the back of his neck. His stomach quivers beneath the soft touch of her splayed hand. She places an open-mouthed kiss where his shoulder and neck meet, then higher against the side of his neck. His fear and rage begin sinking beneath the focus his body demands on every place she's touching him.

"What are you doing?" he manages to ask.

A glance over at Happy confirms that the little Exceed is surprisingly fast asleep.

"I'm calling you back to me," Gina whispers against the shell of his ear before pinching it between her teeth.

Just like that, his body says to hell with his brain. It tightens everywhere, ready to press his strength into her softness and lose himself in her. But his mind fights back with the memory of what it felt like to have his dragon slayer magic drained from him in Edolas as all he could do was scream. With images of Destiny's little face and all the faith she had in her dad. In him.

Gina pivots around him in a flash and reaches up to thread her fingers through his hair. She pulls his head down until they're nose to nose and whispers, "Kiss me, Natsu."

It's too good an order to disobey and he leans in with a hard kiss to her mouth. Then she opens her pretty lips and he drinks in the taste of her. His mind loses the battle for his attention at the sweet fire flavor on her tongue and the little moan that bubbles up from her throat. Oh man, he wants to hear her make that sound again.

He can feel her pushing him back but doesn't much care until his legs bump into something and he topples backward. It takes him a second to realize he's fallen into her giant, and incredibly cushy, four-poster bed. Gina hops up to kneel on the bed beside him an instant later.

_Oh shit. I didn't think we'd be using any of those condoms for a while..._

He's trying to figure out what he should ask when her fingertips come down against his lips.

"Shhhhh, don't wake up Happy," she says with a devilish grin.

_Oh, man. _He glances up and sees Ming's little beady eyes staring down at him from his scarf hammock. _Yikes. Sex with an audience, so not cool._

Gina runs her hand along the side of his face and it draws his eyes back to hers. She looks like she's caught in a weird middle ground between happy and sad.

"Where did you go, Natsu?" she asks, placing another gentle kiss against his mouth. "Why did that make you so upset?"

"It's just..." _What the heck am I supposed to say?_ "I've had someone drain my magic like that before. I know how awful it is."

"You what?" Gina looks horrified. "When? How?"

He tells her the story of winding up in Edolas and being caught - having the King order his men to drain the dragon slayer magic from him and Wendy because he wanted to use it to power a weapon. He'd fought as hard as he could to stay conscious and keep Wendy from giving up.

Gina looks mildly ill by the time he's done. _Geez... way to kill the mood._

"I never would have imagined a human could really understand something like that," Gina whispers.

"I doubt it would be that different," Natsu shrugs. Then he realizes there's a way to tell her the truth. Sort of. "Remember how I said they told us all Nymph Sires are human?"

She nods.

"I just couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like if you couldn't protect your kids from something that awful," he admits.

"Would it make you wish you hadn't had them?" Gina asks.

"Who?"

"The nymph children," she asks, leaning against his chest and watching his expression. "If they were _your _kids, you know like you were thinking, would you wish you hadn't had them?"

He pulls up the image of Destiny's little angry face, only made more adorable by the fact that she thought he was the densest dad on Earthland when he didn't know who she was. Something like that happening to her would be unimaginably awful but...

"I don't think so," he whispers. "I don't think I could ever not want them. Not after I got to know them and see how awesome they were. Or, you know, would be."

_Oh man, this is so messed up!_ He glances at Gina's beautiful face and soft smile and feels his guts twist again. _There's got to be a way to make this all work. There has to! I came back from hundreds of years in the future. Who the hell says Gina can't die of old age before I meet their mom again? Or, maybe things don't work out with us. Maybe she likes some other guy more._ The pain of that thought makes his chest ache but he pushes it aside. _I've got to save all of them! _

Gina's chuckle pulls him back from his thoughts.

"You're turning into an angry brush fire on me again," she says with another soft, sensual kiss to his mouth.

"You mean all I have to do to get you to kiss me is get mad?" he asks, rolling over to capture her mouth again and tuck her beneath him for a few heated moments.

"Oh no," Gina says, nipping at his lip. "It is never going to be that easy. And you'd better be careful or Happy is going to give us an ear full."

He knows a gentle 'no' when he hears one, and he doesn't intend to push. Despite Erza's crazy lecture, he hadn't been expecting sex from their relationship for a while anyway. Just being able to _finally _lie with her again and drown himself in her scent and softness is enough for as long as she wants it to be. He's definitely the luckiest man alive for her to still want that.

He nuzzles his face against her collarbone and settles his weight against her more fully before asking, "You tired enough to crash?"

"Yeah," she says with a yawn. "It's been a long day. And Natsu?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you introduce me to Yukino and the others that way?"

Natsu shrugs. "Is there some other way I should introduce you?"

He's not about to introduce her as his girlfriend without her asking him to. He wonders if she will now.

"No." Gina sighs. "It's fine."

_Damn. Oh well. If Sting, Rogue, and Yukino think of her that way, I won't say different unless it comes up again. Sting seemed too interested in her before he thought we were dating._

He pulls the blanket up over them and closes his eyes. _Maybe I should find a way to ask her out... _


	5. Chapter 5

"Dude," Natsu hears Gray say from above him. "Could you _be _any more lame?"

"Shut up, Frost Face," Natsu barks back, unwilling to get up and destroy his perfect view.

Gina is teaching one of her classes in the pool today and the water is making her performance extra sexy. He decided to take a seat behind her class, so that he could see her from the front without the whole class watching him too. Happy is off with Wendy and Carla today and Ming is playing with a bunch of crystal cups on the table beside him, dancing through the rainbows.

"I don't care if you are a fire dragon-slayer," Lucy says, walking over and sitting down in the pool chair to his left. "It's insane that you can lie on the concrete like that without frying all the skin off your back."

"You look like the world's biggest pervert," Gray says, sauntering up behind her.

Natsu rolls his eyes, kicking the sandals off his feet from where they're perched in the seat of his own pool chair. _This heat is wimpy_. He knows better than to look directly at Gray with the temperatures this high, though. Without really taking his eyes off Gina, he can tell Gray is completely naked and sitting gingerly down on a towel in the chair next to Lucy.

"_I'm _the pervert?" He can't help but laugh. "You'd better be glad Wendy's not out here."

"Gray, what are you doing?" Lucy squeaks. "You brought a bathing suit!"

"I'm not wearing that thing in this heat," Gray grumbles. "I'm already dyin'. Besides, at least I'm not lyin' upside down watching my-"

"Don't knock it till ya try it," Natsu shrugs. _I'd love to see you try it, so Lucy can knock you senseless!_

"Well, at least it looks like Gina is doing well for herself while we're gone," Lucy says, obviously course-correcting the conversation. "Her class is really popular."

"That's because of all the people who lie on the pool deck when Natsu's not here," Gray says.

"What?" Natsu makes the mistake of sitting up slightly to look at Gray. _Geez, put that away!_

Gray laughs. "Look at your face, Loser. It's too easy to mess with your head these days."

"Oh, shut up," Natsu says, settling back down as Gina does a pretty twirl and the rest of the class tries to imitate it. "She seems to be doing pretty good, but I'm not sure how much jewel she pulls in from this stuff. I need to get back out as soon as I can."

There's a long pause before Lucy asks, "Shouldn't you be spending time with her too?"

"Don't even go there," he warns. "She's not gonna die in some freakin' battle. She's safe and she's gonna stay that way. Right here in Magnolia."

"Hey, don't get worked up for real," Gray sighs. "We just wanna make sure you…"

_What the heck is that sound? _He bolts upright to hear better. There's a booming noise coming from somewhere in town over the walls of the guild hall.

"What is it?" Lucy's voice cuts back into his awareness. "Natsu, do you hear something?"

"Yeah. It's like… I don't know. Like fireworks or something." _It's getting closer._

"Fireworks?" Gray asks, wrapping a towel around his waist and heading towards the far corner of the courtyard. "There's nothing special on the Magnolia calendar today."

"I can hear it now too," Lucy says.

Natsu strains his hearing.

"Get back here you slimeball!" someone shouts from a long way off.

"Everyone, get back!"

_I know that voice! _"It's Sting and Rogue," Natsu says, standing to his feet. "They sound like they're after somebody."

"Should we go help?" Lucy asks, grabbing her keys from her belt.

"Natsu, what's going on?" Gina's voice is right behind him.

_Holy Dragons, Gina! _He hadn't noticed her approach because the smell of the chlorine is overwhelming her scent. "Baby, go inside." Natsu turns to urge her towards Gray.

"What? Why?"

_Man, she's so pretty it hurts. _"I don't know what's going on," he says, "but it might be trouble. Please just-"

"Okay," she says.

Natsu thanks his lucky stars that she doesn't argue. They're in a completely separate courtyard, but he'd send her into the basement if they… "Hey, Mira!" he shouts. "Does this place have a basement?"

"Yes!" Mirajane calls. "It's where we keep all the beer and wine. Why?"

"Gina-"

"I know," she sighs. She heads over to gather up her bag from the far side of the pool.

"What are you so worried about?" Natsu hears Elfman laugh from behind him. "Sting and Rogue are Real Men. They have whatever it is handled, and they'd never let their business get chased in here."

"Yeah, I know," Natsu sighs, trying to relax. He spots Ming running towards him. "Hey little guy, come here. I'm gonna head inside just to be-"

A deafening crash shatters the calm in the courtyard, and Natsu turns to see debris raining down from one of the highest rock walls where something struck it. Lisana is standing directly beneath the largest piece of falling rock.

"Look out!" He uses a brief flame boost to get to her in time, knocking her out of the way just as the huge stone shatters the concrete pool deck. "Are you alright?"

He's probably bruised her pretty badly with his own hit, and she smells like she's losing blood from somewhere. He's beginning to look for it, but she's not even looking at him.

"GINA!" Lisana screams.

Natsu lets go and turns even as Lisana pushes him away, scrambling forward. _Holy dragons! _There's still a huge eruption of water coming from the pool where one of the other pieces of debris must have hit. The water is tinged red. Natsu doesn't pause to look around, not even to think.

He hurls himself into the water, cursing the bubbles as he fights to clear his vision. Gina is lying on the bottom of the pool, not moving, with red beginning to swirl around her like a necromancer's spell. Ming is halfway to her already, slicing through the water with his tiny body. Natsu swims as fast as he can.

_How the heck did she get so far from me? _He grabs her arms as soon as he's close enough to reach and starts to drag her towards the surface, but she won't budge. _What the hell? Come on! _It takes him too long to realize that Ming is gnawing on her bathing suit with his teeth. It's stuck on the boulder behind her, pinning her to the pool floor.

_Let GO! _His lungs start to burn. He grabs the center strip of her bathing suit and rips it clear in half just as Ming bites through the last of the strap around her neck. Then he kicks for the surface as fast as he can. He's not even half way up when the water breaks away from his face and splits, starting to lift him out on its own.

He's surprised to see Aquarius is the one manipulating the water, but doesn't spare her more than a glance as he chokes and sputters to draw in a full breath. Gina still isn't moving.

"Gina?" he croaks. "Baby, look at me." She's limp as he slides a finger up beside her neck, and he almost bursts into tears when he finds her pulse.

"She's not breathing!" Lisana shouts. "Where is Wendy?"

_There's no time! _"Come on, Gina, breathe dammit!" He seals his mouth to hers, trying to push air into her lungs. "Breathe!" He starts chest compressions, feeling like he's drowning in the scent of her blood and fighting to ignore the fact that it's coating both of them now. _She's still bleeding. _"Someone bring me a fucking towel!"

"I'm right here, Natsu," Lucy says, dropping to her knees and pressing something white against Gina's head. "Just keep doing-"

Gina's body convulses hard as a stream of water spews out of her mouth, then she starts gasping and choking. Natsu rolls her onto her stomach quickly, to keep any from getting sucked back into her lungs.

"Oh, thank you, _God_," his voice breaks as he runs his hands along her back, checking for more injuries as his brain registers the taste of salt water running down his face. "Gina? Baby?"

"Natsu…" Gina's voice is hoarse as she continues to cough violently, but she won't stay down. She's scrambling to turn back over and he finally lets her, as she clings to him like a human life preserver.

"It's okay," he mumbles into her hair, hating how much it reeks of blood. "You're okay."

"Please." He nearly jumps as Aquarius settles beside them. "Let me help you." She places a hand against Gina's back and a tiny trickle of water begins to stream out of Gina's mouth and onto the ground. "You need to expel all of this or you could become ill."

_Ill? Sick? We're lucky she's not dead! _Natsu focuses on Lucy's hands, clutching the now bright red towel to the back of Gina's head.

"How does it look?" he forces himself to ask.

"It looks a lot better than I thought," Lucy sighs. "It's not a big gash, it's just bleeding like crazy."

"Head wounds will do that," Gray says from over Lucy's shoulder as the whole guild begins to gather around them.

Natsu suddenly realizes that Gina's breasts are bare against his chest, after he shredded the suit that kept her pinned. He clutches her tighter against him, using the bulk of his arms to hide as much as he can from view.

"Here." Lisanna offers another towel, pressing it to Gina's back and just wrapping them both.

"Thanks." He's unwilling to move away from her in an awkward scramble right now. He tries to calm himself with the rhythm of her heart against his ribcage. Shudders are starting to wrack her frame, and she's nearly clinging hard enough to draw more blood. "You're okay," he reminds them both.

"I know." She coughs violently. "Just… don't… let go."

"Natsu!" Gramps voice bellows from behind him. "Gina!" Suddenly, gramps is at least two stories tall, leaning over everyone to see. "Is she alright?"

There's enough adrenaline in Natsu's blood to rip a person in half, and it decides to boil over now. "Where the hell is the asshole who did this?" he screams.

The rage pushes him to his feet and everyone stumbles back as Gina trembles on unsteady legs. That pisses him off even more and he throws up just enough fire around them to make everyone back up a step and focus on the flames as he tucks the towel around her front in a swift movement. Then he lifts her into his arms as everyone starts to shout back answers and observations.

"It was a bounty hunt!"

"He took a pot shot at the guild to throw off Sting and Rogue!"

"It was so fast! I didn't see anything!"

"Is she still bleeding?"

"Where is Wendy?"

"Natsu!" Gramp's voice quiets them all. "We'll find out who's responsible later. For now, you need to get that young woman taken care of."

"Gina, do you want to go with-"

"Don't let go!" she squeals in his ear, shaking harder.

He forces himself to calm down again. "I won't. I promise. I'm not gonna leave you." He looks back up at Gramps. "I'm taking her home."

"Which one?" Gramps asks, as Natsu lifts her into his arms.

He feels gutt-kicked at the reminder that she moved out - moved away from him. "Mine. Ask Wendy to come when you find her, will ya? Unless you can find Porlyusica."

Lucy and Gray gather up Gina's bag and Ming, following them back toward his cabin. At least there, he knew how to keep her safe.


	6. Chapter 6

"Knock, knock," Wendy calls as she opens the front door of Natsu's little cabin.

"Hi Carla! Hi Wendy!" Happy flies over to meet them. "Come inside."

"Where is Gina?" Wendy asks.

"We came as quickly as we could. Elfman told us about the accident," Carla says.

"Ow! Don't touch it!" Gina whines from the bedroom.

"Im just tryin' to…"

"Stop!"

As Wendy walks into the back bedroom, Gina has both of Natsu's wrists held back from her bloodied hair and she's glaring fiercely at the powerful wizard. Wendy feels an odd sense of Deja vu wash over her as she watches the couple grapple on the small bed in their bathing suits. Back when Gina was still sick, they looked this way together most of the time. Gina's current suit looks a little worse for where, though, and Wendy blushes deeply at what must have been terribly embarrassing... for it to get shredded that way. At least Natsu seems to have given her a black t-shirt to wear.

"Oh my goodness," she says. "I don't think they told me about everything that happened."

"Huh?" Natsu looks up and finally stops trying to mess with the poor woman's mangled hair. "Oh, thank Mavis you're here. She won't let me see if it's still bleeding!"

"It would stop bleeding if you stopped messing with it," Gina sighs.

"Well, why don't I take a look," Wendy says. "It won't be an issue then anyway."

"Thanks." Natsu heads for the kitchen. "All this crap has me starving. You guys want anything?"

"I'm fine," Gina says, sitting gingerly back against the pillows.

"I ate at the guildhall." Wendy sits down on the side of the bed and is surprised to realize there are papers spread out all over the floor. Some of them appear to be sketches but they've obviously been water damaged. "Oh wow. I didn't know you draw."

"You can see them?" Gina bolts upright looking panicked, beginning to grope her way towards them.

"Oh, no. It's alright." Wendy pushes back against Gina's shoulders gently. "Most of them are face down. I'm sorry. I didn't realize they were private."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Would you like me to flip the ones I can see face down?"

"Oh, please do." Gina throws a hand over her face, almost looking like she's holding back tears. "I'm sorry. It's stupid. I just…"

"Don't worry." Wendy hops over to flip the pretty image of the desert and a beautiful pattern of lilies, thorns and vines face down. "It's like your diary. I understand. You shouldn't have to share them just because they got wet."

"Thank you. I know Natsu was trying to help."

"He's very worried about you, but actually, everyone at the guildhall is too. They didn't really tell me everything. Is this the only injury you have?"

"Honestly, I have no idea." Gina gingerly brushes her sodden black locks out from in front of her face. "I wasn't awake for some of it. I remember Natsu telling me to go inside. I grabbed my bag… then I saw Ming. Then there was this loud noise and Natsu screamed something. There was a rock falling. I tried to get out of the way, but… The next thing I knew, I was coughing up water and I hurt everywhere."

CLUNK.

Wendy and Gina both jump, turning to see Natsu glaring into a cup on the counter. His knuckles are white where his hands grip the countertop. He looks furious.

"Are you okay?" Wendy asks.

"She almost died," he nearly growls. "Right there at the bottom of the freakin pool."

"Natsu, I'm sorry. I tried-"

"I know," he says with a grimace. "I know you tried. I'm not mad at you. I'm just… angry."

"What happened?" Wendy asks.

"Hush, child," Carla scolds. "He may not be ready to talk about such matters."

"Well, it's not like the story is going to get any better," Natsu shrugs, but it's forced. "When I saw the rocks falling, I jumped for Lisanna. She was gonna get flattened. When we landed I smelled the blood - thought it was her until she screamed Gina's name. The pool looked like something out of a killer shark vid. Bloody water gushing everywhere. Gina was pinned to the pool bottom by her bikini top... which took me too freaking long to figure out. Between Ming and I, we tore it up to get her out." He pauses with a deep blush. "Sorry about that."

Gina blushes too, but she doesn't quite succeed in hiding her embarrassed grin. "It's okay."

"You hadn't been fighting to get free. You were just out cold - not breathing. Your lungs were full of water." Wendy notices the tremor in Natsu's hands as he tucks them under his arms to hide them. She turns back to Gina so he doesn't get embarrassed. "Man, I freaked. Thank the dragons you came awake fighting once the water came out because I would have really lost it if you'd… I don't know. Aquarius had helped get us out of the pool, so that's why she was already there to help get the rest of it out of your lungs."

Gina's eyes are wide but she doesn't say anything else. A cold chill runs down Wendy's spine as the memory of Future Natsu's voice rings out in her head. His eyes were hollow. Telling Natsu Gina was going to die anyway. That death would keep coming for her. He'd called it a fixed event - something that couldn't be changed, just delayed. Wendy hadn't wanted to believe it. But what else could this be? It was too eerie. Wendy doesn't think anyone has told Gina about any of it. Natsu walks back off into the kitchen, and she can't imagine how hard this must be for him.

"Well, why don't we get you all fixed up and clean," she says. "That way it'll feel like it's behind you."

"That's the spirit," Carla says.

"That sounds great." Gina finally, really smiles. "I really appreciate it."

* * *

"Natsu?" Gina asks from over on his bed. "Are we really not going to talk about it?"

_Oh, shit. No. No he is NOT going to talk about it. No way. I can't. I won't. You can't make me. Just play dumb._ "About what?"

She doesn't answer at first and the silence makes him paranoid. When he peeks around the corner, she has the most mischievous grin on her face that he's ever seen. "About the tornado that went through your house. Obviously."

What? "Oh, that," he rubs the back of his neck as he feels the blush creep up it. _I guess that could have been worse. _

He's thankful that the blood scent is out of her hair and clothes. He'd had to give her yet another shirt to get rid of it, and a pair of his boxers to replace the bloody bikini bottom. He'd just taken the soiled bed sheet outside and burned it when no one was looking. He'd almost forgotten how much he likes how she looks in his clothes.

_Fine. _"I kinda… Well, honestly… I suck at cleaning."

"It looked really nice the last time I was here." Gina twirls a lock of black curls around her finger and he's distracted for a moment.

"That's because I was scared to death of you seeing it, and Mira came to help before you woke up."

Gina laughs. "Really? So what are you going to do now?"

_That's a good question. Crap. _"I don't know. I'm not really home a lot."

"What if I help you with it?"

"You're going to clean my dishes? No way."

"It's not that big of a deal. It could be like another job."

"What?" _Oh, wait. _Natsu runs over to his hicking pack and pulls out the bag of jewel from his last job. Running over to Gina, he tosses it in her lap. "Here. That should be enough to pay for rent this month. You don't need to work for it. I told you I would take care of it."

"Oh, come on, Natsu!" Happy says, flying into the room. "We could always use a pretty maid. Roping Lucy into it didn't work..."

"Shut up, Happy!" _Geez, man! That was forever ago! _He throws a pillow off the floor at him, but Happy dodges.

"But Natsu, I want to help." Gina says.

"You can help by staying healthy... and dodging any falling objects from now on."

"No." Gina drops the bag of jewel onto the floor. "I won't accept it if you won't let me help."

"Fine," Natsu shrugs. "I doubt they care who comes in to pay. Jewel is jewel."

"You wouldn't!" She looks so offended it's almost funny.

"Why not? It's my money."

"Whatever," Gina sighs, flopping back against the pillows. "I thought it would be fun to be over more, but I guess…"

It just hangs there like poisonous fruit, waiting for him to pick it out of the air. "Oh, come on. You guess what?"

"I guess I just won't get to see you much," Gina shrugs. "I thought I could be here more when you get back, but there's no way I'm coming over if you won't let me clean in here."

"Fine. I'll clean it."

"When?" she asks, sitting back up with a glare. "You're never home anymore. You're out there, working yourself into the ground."

"She's right, Natsu." Happy says. "We barely have time to eat and visit the guildhall anymore."

"It's not that bad." Both Happy and Gina give him identical looks of total disbelief. "Alright, alright. It's not great."

Gina stands up off the bed and stretches, lifting the t-shirt just enough for him to catch a glimpse of the bottom of the pretty little tattoo around her belly button. _Whoa. _She's got a very t-shirt and panties vibe despite the fact that it's his clothes she's wearing, which makes him feel several degrees warmer.

"Earth to Natsu!" Happy shouts.

"Huh?"

Gina laughs. "I asked if this was some kind of 'don't fold my underwear the wrong way' thing?"

_Wow, is it still getting warmer in here? _"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know," Gina shrugs. "Some guys are touchy about their underwear."

_I can't believe we're talking about this… and you're IN my underwear! _"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope." The smile she gives is positively devilish.

* * *

"What's this one?" Natsu asks, holding up one of her better landscape drawings.

"That's where I grew up," she says.

While Natsu was still out of the room, she'd been careful to hide most of the drawings of them together. A couple of them were still wet, so they're going to have to be redone, but that's a loss she's willing to take. She knew he would want to see them, though, so she left some out drying for him to snoop through. She'll have to be careful not to take the drawings out by the pool anymore.

Natsu is now sprawled out on his little bed in his shorts. It's nowhere near as nice as the bed in her apartment, but it feels a lot like home from all the nights here before. Ming is fast asleep in Natsu's scarf hammock. She's sitting up on the side of the mattress, running her fingers through the fur behind Happy's ears.

"You grew up in a desert?" Natsu asks. "That's so cool. Were there any dragons there?"

"Not for a long time," Gina says, "or so they tell me."

"Is this one him?"

"Yeah, that's Mom and Dad," she says. _In Mom's human form at least._

"Wow, they look really young," he says.

"Yeah, they're older than they look, but they're definitely lucky." _They mated young too. _

"Do you miss home?" Happy asks.

"Sometimes," Gina says, lying back against the pillows. "But Dad and I had a big fight before I left home. I guess I'm not ready to talk to him again yet." _Of course, that was more than 70 years ago._

"Oh, you mentioned that once," Natsu says, setting the drawings down. "Something about them wanting you to have kids, right?"

"Sort of," Gina hedges. _Good grief, should I even talk about this? How do I still remember that night so clearly after all this time? _"It was... a little worse than that actually."

"What happened?" Natsu says, rolling over to hover beside her.

"Someone, uh... someone hurt me," Gina admits quietly.

Natsu's body tenses and his expression grows dark. "Hurt you how?"

_How do I tell him the truth without telling him what I am? _Gina can feel a lump growing in her throat. Her chest feels tight and she feels her flames tremble inside like she's suppressing a flare of destructive energy. _Why the heck didn't you tell yourself what I am, Natsu?! What am I supposed to do now?_

"Hey, shhhh." Natsu turns her face towards him and, after a moment's hesitation, kisses her softly. "It's okay, baby. You don't need to be scared. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"This is so stupid," Gina laughs, blinking back tears. "It was so long ago. It's ridiculous to-"

"Time doesn't always make things hurt less," Natsu shrugs. "I still miss Igneel like he disappeared yesterday."

His compassion makes her brave.

"Dad wanted to help me find someone to love me who was safe," she admits in a rush. "I didn't really get to go out and meet people myself. He picked out this guy, Hiro, who everyone thought was nice. He was handsome, but… there was something in his eyes. He scared me. Then, when we'd been together for only a little while, he..." Natsu's body is tensing further by the second but he's mercifully holding his tongue. _How do I say he was a nymph hunter? _"He used this magic on me that made me weak and sick. I was terrified but I was too weak to fight him off."

Natsu looks like he might actually burst into flames.

"He didn't hurt me more than that," she rushes to say. "Dad caught him and... and he killed him."

"Good," Natsu says, swallowing hard.

"Dad was furious," she whispers. "He promised to do better but I fought him. I didn't want him to find suitors for me. I didn't want to be trapped in my own home anymore. I love the desert but I felt like a prisoner. We had a _terrible _fight." Gina feels tears leak from her eyes. "I said... God, I said I hated him. I was such a child. I told him I didn't need him and I never wanted to see him again."

Natsu nuzzles her tears with his lips. "Have you talked to him since?" he asks.

"No," Gina admits through more tears. "If you hadn't come back from the future and saved me, Natsu, those would have been the last words I'd spoken to him. How awful is that?"

Natsu goes very still for a moment and then pulls her tightly against his body, burying his face in her curls as a tremor runs through him. "Gina, I think you should go talk to him."

"I miss him so much," she admits. "But I can't. Not yet." _Not until I can bring you home as my new Sire. Then he'll see I'm okay. Then I can explain. I can ask him to forgive me. He'll never accept a dragon slayer otherwise. _

"Gina, I'm serious," Natsu says, and she's startled by the almost wild expression in his eyes. "Think about it. You're upset that he could have found out that way. But it hasn't really changed until you go talk to him. You almost drowned today!"

"I know," she sighs, wiping away her tears, "but I'm not ready to face him yet."

"I'll go with you," Natsu says, leaping up from the bed and heading for his pack. "How far away is it? I'll ride the train or a cart or whatever. It'll be... fine." He looks queasy at the thought. "The last jobs were good. I can take a few days off."

"Natsu, my parents live weeks away from here."

"Weeks?" he chokes.

"Where the heck are they?" Happy chimes in.

"They're not in Fiore," Gina says with a watery smile. "I'm an immigrant."

"Whoa!" Happy shouts. "That is so cool!"

"Weeks..." Natsu squeaks then clears his throat. "That's still okay. I'll go with you. How much do we need to book tickets?"

"I'm not ready, Natsu," she insists, walking up to place a calming hand on his arm. "I need more time."

"But..."

Gina silences him with a kiss, then she lets it grow a little more sensual very, very slowly. She tugs at his upper lip gently with her teeth and then runs her tongue along his lower one. He groans and she can feel the love from him begin to blend with the heady flavor of his lust. When she pulls back, she can see that he's still trying to focus on the issue at hand but his body is more than willing to play her distraction game.

"I promise I'll think about it," she says, giving him another quick kiss. "About visiting him... and about taking you and Happy along."

To her surprise, that cold and dark thing slips into his love once again. "Just... don't take too long. Okay? I'm serious."

"Alright," she says, drawing him back to the bed. "We should probably get some sleep."

He crawls in and wraps his arms around her and she snuggles in, listening to the steady beat of his heart as she falls asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

"Guys, I've got to figure out how to get Gina to go see her Dad," Natsu says, bursting into Lucy and Gray's conversation at the table.

The guildhall is as busy as ever and they got back from the last job an hour ago. Mira's and Lisanna are waiting tables, Gajeel is singing something god-awful on stage, and Makarov and Cana look slightly toasted. All in all, a normal day. He's got to figure out what to do before he meets up with Gina.

"What?" Lucy asks.

"Why?" Gray mumbles behind his cup.

"Why do you think, Frost Face?" Natsu rolls his eyes. "Look, the last time she talked to him wasn't good. They haven't talked since."

"Man, I know how that is," Lucy sighs. "Is she still mad?"

"I don't know," Natsu shrugs. "I don't think so, but she still doesn't want to go yet. She wants to wait, but I..." _I'm not gonna let her die. I won't! But what if… _

"So, she's not ready to _see_ him," Lucy mumbles. "Hold up. I think I have an idea."

* * *

Gina jumps, startled by the knock on the door. _Who on Earthland? _She hurries over and opens it, coming face to face with Natsu and Happy.

"Why are you knocking on your own door?" she asks.

"I don't know." Natsu shrugs. "I didn't wanna scare you or somethin'."

"Well come inside." Gina laughs.

"Did you work your butt off while we were gone?" Happy laughs mischievously, flying in through the open window. "Holy crap, you did!"

The little cabin is sparkling again. Gina was excited about the opportunity to leave her own mark on the place for a change. After all, Natsu seems to own the place outright, so this could be her real home until they outgrow it.

She cleaned the rooms, stocked the fridge with everything Natsu and Happy like, bought new fireproof curtains without holes, and even moved a couple of pieces of furniture slightly. She sketched out some ideas for where things will fit better after they start their little family, but it made her a little sad to realize she had no idea how far away that time might be. Natsu certainly doesn't seem to be in a rush, but that's okay. It feels so odd trying to navigate their relationship backward and inside out.

"Whoa," Natsu says, looking around. "You must have killed yourself to do all this!"

"Don't be ridiculous," she says. "You were gone for almost two weeks."

"Yeah, but what about your classes?" he asks.

"They're doing great," she beams. "Elfman is like our pool-side bouncer now, watching for trouble whenever he's here. After all, Lisanna and Mirajane are both in my class. Oh! I even found a place for my picture." She points to the poolside painting she ordered from Reedus, hung just above the small table in the corner by the door. "Do you mind? My apartment is just so small."

"Uh." Natsu colors with an adorable blush. "No, that's… it fits. Fits real nice."

"Oh, good." Gina realizes that Natsu and Happy are still covered in grime from the long road home. They look exhausted. "Why don't you guys go clean up. Did you eat at the guildhall?"

Happy flies straight to the fridge. "Oh my gosh!" He squeals. "I love you, Gina! There's so much yummy fish in here!"

"You stocked the fridge too?" Natsu asks, walking over. "Holy crap, babe. The money I left was for you to spend on food for _you_, not me."

"I didn't need that much," she says, waving it away. She needs time with him, not food. "Would you rather come home to nothing? Or did you eat with Mira?"

"Nah," Natsu yawns. "I'm too beat."

"Well, go get cleaned up, and I'll make you something."

She turns to the fridge, where Happy is busily munching a fish in the open door, but Natsu grabs her wrist gently.

"Wait." He yawns while obviously trying to fight it. "I have something for you."

Natsu pulls out a small stack of plain lined paper and a couple of writing pencils, placing them in her hands.

"What's this for?"

"For your dad."

"My dad?" She's been thinking about her father off and on since her discussion with Natsu, but she hadn't expected him to dwell on it. _But that's so stupid, _she realizes. _Natsu lost Igneel. _

"I'm still saving up for that trip," Natsu says, yawning again. "But you shouldn't leave things unsaid so long. Maybe if you don't want to go right away… you can write him a letter. Figure out what you want to say before we get there."

"Natsu, that's so sweet."

She throws her arms around his shoulders and squeezes him tightly, feeling the weariness in his body. His love is a swirling blend of brilliant warmth and dark cold, soaking into her and confusing her again. She looks up into his eyes and they seem ever so slightly sad. She kisses him softly, and his love brightens slowly until he pulls away.

"I should shower before I fall down," he says with a smile. "But I missed you."

"I missed you too. Go on. If you're too tired, just take a bath. The soak might do you good. Happy and I will be fine out here."

Sitting down at Natsu's kitchen table, Gina's fingers tremble around the pencil. Pictures, images are her strong suit. Words are an entirely different story. Natsu's right, though. It may be easier to wrestle the words out on paper than it would be in person. After mulling it over forever, she decides to start with the basics.

_**Dear Mom and Dad, **_

_**Surprise. I'm finally writing home. I'm truly sorry that it took me so long. I needed time, but now I want to find the right words to say… I'm sorry. No excuses. No long stories. Just sorry. I should have written a long time ago. Thank you for giving me space. **_

_**I've traveled a lot of the world since you saw me last. I've learned a lot more about magic and about myself. I've met a lot of amazing people in the guilds. Thank you for paying for all these contracts, even though I said such terrible things to you. Thank you for my freedom. **_

_**I'm not ready to come home yet. I'm happy and healthy. I'll come eventually… but I've met someone. His name is Natsu**_

Something prickles at the back of Gina's memory. It was so many decades ago and she was so young that it's hard to capture it. Her mother and father were talking about suitors. Her father said something… "_As long as he isn't a Dragneel." _He'd been laughing at the time.

Gina sits back, stunned. _Good grief!_ _What on Earthland did he mean by that? _She'd never given Natsu's last name much thought. She'd assumed it was tied to Igneel, but that makes no sense. Dragon's don't use surnames, so it must have come from his biological family. But who were they? And why did her father seem to dislike them?

_His comment may not have been serious, but wouldn't it just figure if it had been… _Deciding to avoid the issue, for now, she sets back to writing her letter.

_**His name is Natsu Fullbuster. Yes, he's a fire wizard, and no, we're not mated yet. I'm taking my time, but I promise to bring him home if we get there. He has a big family and a good job. He's brave and kind and… well, I love him to pieces. Ming likes him too. **_

_**I'll try to write again when I have more news. Until then, know that I love you both. **_

_**\- Aegina **_

Sealing the letter inside the envelope, she decides to wait to address it until she sticks it in the mail. Natsu is likely to try and sneak a peek and seems antsy to travel home with her, but he has no idea what such a trip would truly entail. Her family is overwhelming at the best of times, and they would expect a mating before making any room for him.

"Did you figure out what you want to say?" Happy flies over.

"I sure did. I'll have to thank Natsu when he gets out of the shower."

"Oh, he's already asleep." Happy giggles.

"What?" _Was I really that lost in thought? _"He didn't even eat dinner."

"Yeah, we took some shortcuts home because Natsu wanted to get back," Happy says. "He was on his feet a lot more though. I'm surprised he didn't fall asleep in the bathroom."

Gina peeks into the bedroom to see the fire mage sprawled out on the mattress, already lightly snoring. He's in his favorite flame shorts and his hair is spiked out in all directions and still damp. It's amazing he was tired enough not to flame himself dry.

"Are you full?" she whispers to Happy.

"Oh, yeah." Happy pats his little rounded belly. "That fish was awesome."

"Well, then you'd better get to bed too."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

He flies off towards his little cat bed and Gina changes into her pajamas and gets ready for bed. Sneaking under the covers, she curls her arms around the dragon slayer's warmth. In his sleep, the dark and cold feeling is usually missing from the sense of his affection that still trickles from him in dreams. She soaks it in, feeling her body thrill at the beautiful energy. She could definitely get used to this.

* * *

Chirp. Chirp-chirp. Cheep.

_Oh, come on. _Natsu stuffs a pillow over his head. _Go be happy somewhere else! Stupid birds. _

After a few minutes, it's just ruined. There's no going back to sleep with all the little chickadees having a party outside his window. He rolls over and his mood bottoms out a little more. Gina's not next to him. _She probably went back to her apartment after I fell asleep. _

"Hey, sleepyhead." Happy flies in and lands beside him. "I thought you were going to sleep all day."

"What? What time is it?"

"It's like one o'clock in the afternoon, lazy face."

"Geez, I didn't think I was that tired." Natsu stands and starts to stretch the fatigue out of his sore muscles. "When did Gina leave last night?"

"Last night? She left like an hour ago. She slept here, right behind you... like she used to."

"What?" _How could I miss that? _"Why did she leave now?"

"She said she had to go meet Levy and Lucy at some bookstore in town. But she left you a yummy lunch on the table."

"Damn." Natsu sighs and walks into the kitchen. "I can't believe I missed her. It won't be long before I need to find another job if I'm gonna afford a trip so far away."

Sure enough, the table has a plate with two of the best sandwiches he's seen in a while, and the fire pit is lit with a small fire. He sits down and starts to dig in. No point in wasting good food.

"Natsu… did you want Gina to leave?" Happy asks.

"What are you talking about? I just said I was asleep," he mumbles around his sandwich.

"I mean when she got her apartment, Stupid. You didn't even ask her not to go."

The thought sours Natsu's stomach, but he forces himself to keep eating. _How the heck am I supposed to… _"I got scared, Happy."

"But you're not scared of anything!" Happy takes flight with his conviction.

"I'm not scared of a lot of things. But what Future Me said in that cave scares me to death."

"You mean if Gina…"

"Yeah." He sets the sandwich down and rubs at his eyes. "But it's more than that. I'm scared of falling harder… of screwing it up."

"What do you mean?" Happy steps down on the table again and his wings disappear as his paw touches Natsu's hand.

"Up on that mountain… when gina was dyin'... I've never been that angry before. Not like that. That was rage like acid in my veins, little guy. I wasn't pulling my punches, and Gajeel was. I could've killed him. My own friend."

"But you didn't!"

"No, I didn't. But Gina and I weren't even really dating then. Heck, I don't even know if we are now. If I screw this up, I don't know how to… Shit. I don't know."

"The Natsu that I know isn't afraid of a little pain," Happy says, folding his arms. "Well… I guess you don't ever let it stop you from doing what's right. If you don't know if you and Gina are really dating, then just ask her! If you don't want her living somewhere else, then say so."

"Says the cat who's still never said a real word to Carla."

"Because I'm not you! You're Natsu Dragneel. Now act like it!"

_Happy's right. Running away from Gina isn't going to make it hurt any less if I lose her. I'll just be pissed at myself forever… and man, it seems like forever might be a really long time. _"You're right, little buddy. Wanna help me go find her?"

* * *

"I can't believe we struck out so bad," Lucy says as she, Gina, and Levy exit the bookstore.

"Well, it did seem like a pretty big secret," Gina laughs. "Did you guys really expect to find it at a local store?"

"You know what," Levy says, "you're right. We've got to think bigger if we're going to find out any more information about nymphs. We need to go to Magic Library."

"Magic Library?" Gina asks. The warmth of the sun reflects off of the sidewalk as they head for the guildhall. "Where is that? And I thought the nymphs wanted you _not_ to collect more information. Aren't they happily relocated? Learning more could endanger them or something, right?"

"We're going to keep our promise and not tell anyone," Lucy says, "but we really need to know more."

"Why?" Gina asks.

"Remember the crazy mine we were in when we were trying to save you?" Levy asks. "I shouldn't say too much… but we learned that nymphs are still connected to Fairy Tail in the future."

"What?" Gina reels for a moment, struggling with how they would know that and not know her secret. "How?"

"It doesn't matter," Lucy shrugs. "We just know they are somehow, so knowing more about what helps and hurts them, how to communicate, all of it could be important someday."

"And I believe in being prepared," Levy says.

"Alright." Gina decides not to push too hard and give herself away. "Well, I'd like to go with you and help." She sighs. "If I can talk Natsu into it."

Suddenly, the ground starts to tremble beneath their feet and the pavement starts to split, racing toward them.

"What the heck?" Lucy shouts.

"Get back inside!" Levy catches the doorknob in a few strides. Lucy grabs her hand. Gina is just reaching for Lucy as the ground opens up beneath her.

"Natsu!" Gina screams.

* * *

Gina's scream pierces Natsu's hearing, shattering his calm as he heads towards the bookstore Gina scribbled down on her note.

"Gina!" He starts running, using flame to boost his speed. "Gina, I'm coming!"

"What was that boom?" Happy shouts over the wind, flying beside him.

"I don't know, but I heard Gina scream," he says. "We have to hurry!"

After a moment, he can see Lucy and Levy coming out of the bookstore. Holy dragons! The sidewalk is split for a long way, leading to the biggest sinkhole Natsu's ever seen. Half of the building next door has collapsed and fallen in.

"Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!" Lucy calls, swirling in magical energy as she calls forth her spirit.

"Where's Gina?" Natsu shouts.

"Oh, my God," Levy says. "She's down there! She fell in!"

"Gina, baby I'm coming!" Natsu hurls himself down into the pit and begins digging through the sand as fast as he can. He'll never get to her in time.

* * *

Gina's instantly in darkness, falling a shockingly long way as the soil presses in against her on all sides. A boulder is sliding down from above and Gina lets her body change into a pure flame state just long enough for it to pass through. She transitions back, clawing at the dirt and sand, but she can't get a hold on anything stationary. It's all falling with her.

_What is happening? Someone help me! _She transitions to her solid flame state, trying to deploy her wings, but they're pinned to her sides. She can't open them. _Natsu! Natsu help me! _

She stops descending, but the pressure grows. She's going to be crushed by the weight on top of her! She stays in flame just long enough to melt the sand around her into a hard, hollow glass shell. Then her flames sputter and she transitions quickly back into her human form.

_I can't breathe! _She struggles, gasping and gasping within the empty shell, but all the oxygen has burned up. _No! I can't die here! Can I? Oh dragons, Natsu help me! _She claws at the glass in the dark, as her face begins to go numb.

* * *

"You called, Princess?" Virgo asks, appearing next to Lucy.

The spirit is thin with short-cropped pink hair and a maid's outfit, including the odd accessory of chains on her wrists.

"Virgo!" Lucy shouts. "Gina's down there! You've got to get her out!"

"As you wish, Princess."

"Auger!" Levy shouts.

The word AUGER appears just beside Natsu and begins burrowing down alongside Virgo, spitting the soil back out to the surface. Natsu jumps back.

"You could hurt her!" he shouts.

"If we don't get to her quickly, she'll suffocate!" Levy says with tears in her eyes. "With all that weight… she might already-"

"Shut up!" Natsu shouts. "She's going to be-"

Virgo reappears with Gina in her arms, laying her down on the solid ground. "Princess, she is not breathing."

"Gina!" everyone shouts.

Natsu hurries over to touch her face, her throat. Her body is scraped and bloodied everywhere. Her heart is still beating, barely, but her lungs are still.

"Come on! Breathe, baby, breathe!" He pinches her nose shut and pushes air into her lungs. Once. Twice.

Gina starts coughing, violently sucking air in and clutching Natsu's arms hard enough to make him bleed if he didn't harden his skin just enough.

"Gina. Oh, man." He clutches her, still gasping and coughing, against his chest. "Oh baby, you're okay. You're gonna be okay."

Levy leans in close, stroking Gina's hair with a trembling hand. "Wendy is back at Fairy Hills. We should take Gina to her apartment as quick as we can."

Natsu stands, lifting Gina into his arms with adrenaline still racing through his system. "Lead the way. Hurry."


End file.
